No. 24 MSU Softball Travels To South Carolina For SEC Series
April 11, 2008 | Softball
STARKVILLE, Miss. ? The 24th-ranked Mississippi State softball team returns to action this weekend, traveling to Columbia, S.C., for a three-game Southeastern Conference series with the South Carolina Gamecocks. The series kicks off Saturday with a doubleheader before concluding with a single game on Sunday. First pitch both days is set for noon CST.
All three games of the weekend series will be broadcast live on MSU's campus radio station, WMSV 91.1. The broadcasts can also be heard online at www.wmsv.msstate.edu
The two teams have met 36 times prior in school history, with the Gamecocks holding a slim 20-16 lead in the series. MSU, however, has won the last three meetings and seven of the last eight.
State enters the weekend with a 32-15 overall mark and 6-10 record in league play. USC stands at 20-15 on the year with a 7-7 SEC mark. MState is entering the weekend looking to snap a four-game losing skid which included three losses to third-ranked Florida and a 2-1 setback to Mississippi Tuesday night at the M&F Bank Fastpitch Classic in Ridgeland, Miss.
The Bulldog offense will be facing a USC squad that claimed a two-game sweep of Auburn last weekend behind the pitching of Melissa Hendon, who earned SEC Pitcher of the Week accolades.
Bulldog sophomore Chelsea Bramlett will look to continue her outstanding season at the plate. The Cordova, Tenn., native, who was named one of the 25 finalists for the USA Softball Player of the Year Award earlier this week, leads State's offense with a .449 average, 40 runs scored and 38 stolen bases. Bramlett's stolen-base mark is the third-best in single-season school history, eight back of the school record she set last season.
As a team, State is hitting at a .303 clip which is good for fourth in the league. Behind Bramlett's stellar numbers, senior Courtney Bures leads the Dogs in RBI (31) and doubles (10) while hitting at a .371 clip.
In the circle, junior Kelsey Nurnberg has won a team-leading 15 games while striking out 81 over 145 and two-thirds innings. Freshman Misty Flesher has added 13 victories while leading the team with 88 strikeouts compared to just 21 walks in 113 and two-thirds innings.
